That
first Thanksgiving in the fall of 1621 saw about 50 Mayflower Pilgrims
and 100 native Indians come together for a celebration feast consisting
of a variety of homegrown vegetables--including corn, squash, beans,
barley, and peas--along with wild turkey and venison. The precise date
is not known, but it is believed to have taken place in late October
or early November. Historians record that the Massachusetts weather
was crisp, but not cold--and the fall foliage dazzled America's newcomers
with a cornucopia of color.

These
Pilgrims were mostly "Separatists," who had left Europe to
seek a land of liberty, where men could be free to worship God according
to the dictates of their own conscience--not according to the demands
of a State church or an oppressive government. They made their intentions
and motivations clear when they signed America's first covenant, a document
called The Mayflower Compact:

"We
whose names are underwritten . . . Having undertaken, for the Glory
of God and advancement of the Christian faith . . ."

This
undertaking had prompted them to leave their homes, livelihoods, families,
friends, and way of life, and face a dangerous voyage across the Atlantic
Ocean. Many became ill and some did not survive to see the new world.
But they all believed that they were doing God's will and that He would
honor their faith. And He certainly did.

Although
the original Pilgrims had a few confrontations with the American Indians--some
were even violent--for the most part, the Indians were friendly and
accommodating. They taught the Pilgrims what crops to grow and how best
to grow them. They helped them understand American agriculture and the
ways of the wild game endemic to that part of North America. And by
the time they held their first Thanksgiving banquet, the relationship
between those original Pilgrims and Massasoit and his small tribe of
Indians was one of genuine trust and friendship.

God
had, indeed, smiled upon the small band of Pilgrims. They had survived
a long, treacherous journey across the ocean, had written the immortal
Mayflower Compact, had built their homes and community, had established
a civil body-politic, had successfully planted and harvested enough
food to keep them through the winter, and had established peaceful relations
with the native Indians.

The
Pilgrim Thanksgiving may have been the first such celebration, but it
was far from the last.

Not
long after becoming America's first (and greatest) President, George
Washington issued our country's first Thanksgiving Proclamation on October
3, 1789. In the proclamation, Washington wrote:

"Whereas
it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty
God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to
implore his protection and favor . . .

"Now
therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November
next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that
great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good
that was, that is, or that will be--That we may then all unite in rendering
unto him our sincere and humble thanks--for his kind care and protection
of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation--for
the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of
his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of
the late war--for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty,
which we have since enjoyed--for the peaceable and rational manner,
in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government
for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now
lately instituted--for the civil and religious liberty with which we
are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful
knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which
he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

"And
also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and
supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him
to pardon our national and other transgressions--to enable us all, whether
in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties
properly and punctually--to render our national government a blessing
to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and
constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed--to
protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have
shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace,
and concord--To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion
and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us--and generally
to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he
alone knows to be best."

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Presidents
ever since have likewise issued proclamations of thanksgiving exhorting
the American people to humbly acknowledge the protection and blessing
of Heaven upon our land. It is particularly appropriate that they would
do this. After all, we Americans--of all people--have sufficient reason
to give corporate thanks to Almighty God, as our Christian forebears
founded this land for the express purpose of seeking religious liberty.

The
history of the world's nations is largely the story of one despot being
replaced with another. Throughout the annals of human history, the story
of human government is that of the rise and fall of one empire after
another; one king or potentate after another. One dictatorship being
replaced with another dictatorship. One form of monarchy replacing another
form of monarchy. Some were kinder than others. Some were benevolent.
Some were harsh. And some were downright cruel. But until July 4, 1776,
there was no such thing as a nation founded on self-government, federalism,
and religious liberty.

For
the first time in world history, Christian people were granted a land
of blessing and hope. In the human sense, America became to Christians
what Canaan was to Old Testament Israel. In America, believers could
live at peace with both their society and their government. They no
longer had to choose between obeying their God and obeying their king.
In America, there was no king, but King Jesus. In America, men could
truly render unto God that which was God's, as Caesar did not demand
for himself that which was God's alone. (In fact, in America, we have
no Caesar.) Men no longer had to violate their conscience in order to
stay out of jail. Believers were no longer required to worship at the
altar of the State or the State Church. In America, men could live free.

I
repeat: if anyone has a reason to give corporate thanksgiving unto God,
it is the people of the United States.

The
common attitudes being displayed by many Christians--along with their
spiritual leaders and pastors--today, however, are truly disgusting:
apathy, indifference, and lethargy seem to rule the day. I constantly
hear things like: "God hasn't called me to get involved in politics,"
or "I am only called to preach the Gospel," or "Maybe
we need to go into persecution," or "It's not my responsibility
to save America." All of which exposes their personal cowardice
and utter contempt for the sacrifices rendered by their brave ancestors--sacrifices
which procured the very blessings of liberty that they now hoggishly
wallow in without appreciation or afterthought. And now, when faced
with the imminent threat of the loss of the very liberties that they
have taken for granted, they glibly reject any personal responsibility
to maintain said liberties for their posterity--and pharisaically excuse
their miserable conduct with pious-sounding clichés. They even
have the wicked audacity to attempt to use the Scripture as an unholy
closet in which they might hide--the same Scripture that their forefathers
claimed as an illuminating beacon that was used to conquer the darkness
of oppression.

I
pray that this Thanksgiving season may be a time of both rejoicing and
reflection, as well as a time of feasting and fellowship. But may it
also be a time of rededication and renewal; a time of determination
and decision, that we will each give our whole heart, mind, and strength
to the restoration of the principles of freedom and federalism upon
which our republic was built. Let us renew the Spirit of '76 in America
once more. In the face of whatever danger and challenge that may oppose
us, I pray that we will be the ones that will rise up to reclaim the
blessings of liberty for our children and our children's children. So
help us, Almighty God!

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Chuck
Baldwin is Founder-Pastor of Crossroads Baptist Church
in Pensacola, Florida. In 1985 the church was recognized by President
Ronald Reagan for its unusual growth and influence.�

Dr. Baldwin is the host of a lively, hard-hitting
syndicated radio talk show on the Genesis Communications Network called,
"Chuck Baldwin Live" This is a daily, one hour long call-in show in which
Dr. Baldwin addresses current event topics from a conservative Christian
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and newspapers.��

To learn more about his radio talk show please
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